A 17-year-old accused of murder will spend six months in jail for a separate drug conviction.

Kadeem White pleaded guilty June 29 to possessing less than 25 grams of cocaine, seven days before he is accused of shooting Benjamin Willard, 21, to death in an alley between Francis Street and Chittock Avenue.

Today, Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson placed White in jail and also put him on probation for five months.

"Give the seriousness of those charges, this is the least of his worries," Wilson said of the drug conviction.

Wilson gave him the maximum possible recommended jail sentence, although White already is being held without bond in the pending murder case.

He originally was charged with possession with intent to deliver less than 50 grams of cocaine after being caught with the drug on or about April 14, but the charge was dismissed in exchange for his plea to the lesser drug offense.

The teen had a "rough upbringing," said his lawyer, Christopher Dickerson.

His father has been in and out of prison; his mother also has had issues, Dickerson said. "He never really had much of a chance."

White is fighting the murder allegation and maintains his innocence, said Dickerson, who is not representing White in the more serious case.

When the judge asked him today if he had anything to say, White politely declined.